How can you make 30 cents with two coins and one not be a nickel?

One quarter and one nickel makes 30 cents from two coins without one being a nickel, as one is a nickel but the other one is not. This is the only way to make 30 cents with just two U.S. coins.

There are a number of ways to make 30 cents with three or more coins. Three dimes equals 30 cents, and two dimes and two nickels does the trick with four. One dime and four nickels uses a total of five coins, while a quarter and five pennies makes the total with six. The maximum number of U.S. coins used to make 30 cents is that same number of copper pennies.